TOYOTA AVENSIS BTCC CAR

Next Generation Touring Car’ (2012)

BTCC Toyota Independent racer Frank Wrathall returns to the Goodwood Festival of Speed to demonstrate the power of his 2012-specification Toyota Avensis.

Wrathall and the Avensis made an attention-grabbing debut in the DunlopMSABritish Touring Car Championship in 2011, the young driver racing to a series of podium finishes in the second half of the season and earning the fans’ vote as the series’ Rookie of the Year.

For 2012 there are three cars being raced by Independent teams in the BTCC – the Toyota-engined version being shown at Goodwood, which is prepared by Dynojet Racing and driven by Frank Wrathall, and two Speedworks Motorsport-run examples powered by a TOCA ‘spec’ engine and driven by Tony Hughes and BTCC newcomer Adam Morgan.

The Avensis was among the first of the cost-saving ‘Next Generation Touring Cars’ that are being pioneered inBritainby championship promoter TOCA. Under the skin of the Burnaston-produced Avensis, significant sections, such as the front and rear suspension sub-frames, the gearbox, braking system and electronics, are the same as those found in all theNGTCcars, irrespective of the manufacturer’s badge on the bonnet.

GPR Motorsport of Buckingham, under the direction of Roger King and Gary Blackham, are responsible for the design and execution of theNGTCproject.

There is a pure Toyota heart in this Avensis: a 2.0-litre turbocharged power unit from Toyota’s road-going range which, funded by Toyota GB, has been transformed in the Northamptonshire laboratories of engineering consultancy X CTech R to produce more than 300bhp.

“TheToyota3ZR engine is a lightweight, compact package which we have optimised to ensure delivery of the required performance and durability,” said X CTech R technical director Mark Faulkner.

Following an eventful early season coping with new-car teething issues, the Dynojet Racing team is hoping that the second half of the BTCC season will start to yield the results of which the Avensis is clearly capable.